FLINT, Michigan — Former U.S. Sen. Don Riegle remembers when U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee's congressional career began — he was there to give his blessing.

Kildee came to Riegle's Flint office in 1976 to tell him he would run for the seat Riegle was vacating for his U.S. Senate campaign. Both men won their respective races and remained friends over the years.

"I thought he was ready and trained and I thought he could win — which he proved over and over again through the years," Riegle said with a chuckle.

Kildee, 81, announced this evening he will retire from his seat in the U.S. Congress after 36 years. Kildee has been a lawmaker at the state and federal levels for 47 years.

Riegle, 73, said he and Kildee both grew up on the industrial east side of Flint with a childhood that instilled in them blue collar values and a strong affinity for public service.

During his time as a teacher at Flint schools, Kildee had Riegle's sister as one of his students, Riegle said. It was just one of many ways their paths would cross over the years.

"We carried those feelings and impressions and values (from our childhood) through both of our careers," said Riegle, who retired from his Senate seat in 1994.

Dale Kildee

He recalled that Kildee had studied to be a priest, but ultimately decided to go into elected office.

Between the pair of them, they have represented that eastside Flint neighborhood at the federal level since 1967.

"I think Dale and I had the keenest sort of sense of what does Flint need," Riegle said. "Politics and public service was sort of in the drinking water on the east side of Flint. He had a big dose of it."

Check here for a detailed look at all The Flint Journal's coverage of Kildee's retirement.